Posts under ‘Animals’

What a Croc

Yellow Water in Australia’s remote Kakadu National Park is a huge land-locked billabong and attracts thousands of visitors every year for its unique and beautiful native flora and fauna, with many coming especially to see the salt water crocodile in its natural habitat. The park is also home to millions of migratory birds including jacana, egrets, jabiru, sea eagles, magpie geese to name a few. The best way to see the natural environment is to join one of the many boat cruises up the billabong for a close encounter with nature. Daybreak and sunset are the most spectacular times and best for seeing the wildlife. Yellow Water is close to Jabiru and is about a 3-4 hour drive east of Darwin along the Kakadu Highway. Regular tourist services operate from Darwin to the park. Read the rest of this entry »

majestic king penguins at Melbourne Aquarium

Melbourne Australia is known for it’s Philip Island fairy penguins but now penguins from the Antarctic are finding their home in this great city. A magnificent new exhibit costing $28 million dollars has just opened at the Melbourne Aquarium featuring five king penguins and 13 very inquisitive gentoo penguins. Bred in captivity these majestic birds have been the biggest attraction these school holidays with thousands of families visiting the aquarium to enjoy these amazing creatures.  The enclosure is kept at Antarctic temperatures and is covered in shaved ice and snow there is also a huge pond where the penguins can dive and play. Visitors can view the penguins both on the snow and from a huge glass pane window on the pond.  The Melbourne Aquarium is the only place you can see either King or Gentoo penguins in Australia. The aquarium also features a very interesting Antarctic exhibition so visitors can not only see and learn about the penguins but learn a bit about this cold and mysterious southern continent. Read the rest of this entry »

This is ANYTHING but your typical waterpark! Who could create a waterpark better than SeaWorld? SeaWorld has created its first waterpark with Aquatica in Orlando, Florida. It really is something to see! At Aquatica, SeaWorld has taken their sea-life theme to a whole new level. Aquatica is located right across the street from SeaWorld on International Drive, only 15 minutes from the Orlando International Airport.

Loaded with some of the wildest slides, animals, and waterpark attractions you have ever seen, you will not want to miss it. They have everything from high speed lazy rivers to one of the biggest child play areas in the country. Kata’s Kookaburra Cove and Walkabout Waters give children a world they can call all their own. Filled with water spouts, fun kiddie rides, and a 60-foot water fortress, the child play area provides over 15,000 square feet of play space for young imaginations to run wild with! For those looking for adventure, they haven’t forgotten about you! The Taumata Racer allows for a high-speed competitive race to the finish. Eight slides at this attraction allow you to zip to the bottom, head-first, and race your closest friends and family members. Other perfect family attractions are those of the exhilarating family tube rides, the giant wave pool, and the relaxing lazy river, which takes you through a huge grotto filled with tropical fish. This isn’t the only spot where you can get up-close and personal with wildlife. The Dolphin Plunge at Aquatica is the most unique water ride in the country! The Dolphin Plunge shoots you out into a tube slide and then through the actual dolphin pool of the Commerson’s Dolphins. The beautiful Commerson’s Dolphins are tiny black and white dolphins that are known for their playful nature and quick speeds. As you shoot through their tank, don’t be surprised if they swim right along side you. It is an experience you will never forget!

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After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the fall of the Soviet control of much of Eastern Europe many of the huge monuments to the rule were removed and in many cases destroyed. But many in Lithuania were later retrieved and restored and are now on display at Grtas park, near Druskininkai in Southern Lithuania which opened in 2001. The park has become a family amusement park, and has a very odd list of attractions, there are over 80 of huge statues of just about every leader to rule the East, including Lenin and Stalin. There’s a few wooden huts with over a million pieces of memorabilia from this period and even a zoo, well a pretty crappy one in more ways than one. Don’t expect any exotic animals unless you are counting the chickens, pigs and the odd ostrich or pheasant- if you like the look of them, head down to the restaurant, they have a few of their zoo exhibits on the menu.. tasty. There’s plenty of market stalls where you can buy your very own Soviet era treasure or even some dodgy beer brewed on the premises. It may not be Disneyland but you will certainly be amazed, although in different ways. if you know what we mean.

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The horrific earthquake that shook China on May 12 this year not only killed and destroyed the homes of thousands of people it did extensive damage to wildlife, in particular the Chinese’s most prized animal the giant panda. The Wolong Giant Panda Reserve was only 32km from the epicenter and it was badly damaged, five of the staff members were killed in the carnage, but fortunately 58 of the 60 panda’s have been found and are all safe, the other two it is hoped they have just escaped and will be found. The pandas have been moved to Beijing and they are going to go on display at the Beijing Zoo and will be on display until November. There were plans to move the panda’s to Beijing before the earthquake but now the need is more crucial. It is expected over 6 million people will visit the zoo for a look at the fury black and white bears during their stay. It is believed under 1600 pandas now live in the wild.

We did a story a few weeks ago on a restaurant in Dublin called the Guinea Pig Restaurant. We got quiet a bit of feedback from our visitors, but most of them read the story wrong, the Guinea Pig doesn’t serve the fury critters, they are a fish restaurant. But to the horror of those who left us a comment, we thought we would do a story about Peru today where they just love sinking their teeth into a succulent piece of roast guinea pig, in fact it is estimated that over 56 million of them are roasted every year. Guinea pigs are the perfect meal in Peru, they are easy to breed, very easy to raise and don’t require much space and they are pretty damm tasty too, being high in protein and low in cholesterol. The little rodent like creature has been on the menu for thousands of years. Today’s photo is a Spanish version of the Last Supper which was painted by Marcos Zapata, it shows Christ and his apostles ready to eat a guinea pig. The painting hangs in the Capilla del Triunfo Cathedral of Cuso Peru which was built in 1539.

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The surrounding area of Rockhampton on the central coast of Queensland, Australia is home to an estimated three million head of cattle making the city Australia’s beef capital. The city has a rich heritage of beef farming and as you will see from the dozen’s of cattle statues and monuments throughout the city beef is what makes this city tick. Their pubs not only serve ice cold beer but some of the best beef burgers, and steaks found anywhere in the world. One of the most famous of the Rockhampton pubs is the Great Western Hotel which is home to a 3000 seat undercover rodeo stadium where champion riders test their skills against fiery eyed cattle. Just out of town at Gracemere is one of Australia’s biggest livestock markets and home to huge cattle sales on Fridays. Here some of the country’s finest cattle is auctioned to become dinner all around the world. Read the rest of this entry »

Going back to the thirties some bright entrepreneur in Tijuana Mexico decided to paint their donkey with black and white stripes to look like a Zebra, the idea was to make the animal look better on black and white photographs. Most of the donkey’s were white or fairly light and photographed badly in the bright Mexican sun. Like any good idea, others followed and decades later the tradition continues. The zonkeys or painted donkey are there for the tourist, it’s amazing how many people will spend the $10 or so to have themselves photographed wearing silly Mexican hats and ponchos with these dopey striped animals. Read the rest of this entry »

Lincoln Park Zoo is as the name suggests in Lincoln Park in the heart of Chicago and dates back to 1868 when a pair of swans joined a bear cub. Today the zoo is home to about 1250 animals which popular exhibits include gorillas, monkeys, seals, birds of preys and reptiles. The zoo also has a huge children’s area where kids can get up close to farm animals. The zoo has a large conservation duty and also carries out an extensive school program where the young can learn about the animals and the challenges they face in their natural habitats. One of the highlights of the Lincoln Park Zoo is the Robert R McCormick Bear Habitat where you can see Andean Bears, Malayan Sun Bears and the beautiful Polar Bears. The Polar Bear exhibit features one of the largest exhibits in the world with a quarter of a million gallon tank for their pleasure. Visitors can see these massive and graceful creatures behind glass frolicking in the water. The zoo is open every day and best of all its free. Read the rest of this entry »

Japan has some of the world’s more interesting museums, there the noodle museums, sewerage museums, salt museum…you get the drift but now we have found one which is even weirder…The Kiseichuu Hakubutsukan or Meguro Parasite Museum. Here you can see jars and jars of interesting parasites in all shapes and sizes. The star attraction of the museum in their 45000 item collection is a 8.8 meter long tape worm which once happily lived in a woman. There are all sorts of worms and wriggly things enough to turn you off your lunch and probably tomorrows as well. The museum like all museums features a gift shop at the end of the tour, and yes you can buy your very own parasites one of the best sellers is a parasite key chain- beats that Hello Kitty one they are selling down the street and for only Y210 its a real bargain. The Meguro Parasite Museum is located Shimomeguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, and only a few minutes walk from Meguro Station. – Just a word of warning no eating is allowed whilst veiwing the parasite collection. Read the rest of this entry »